Staple removal equipment

ABSTRACT

Staple removal equipment is provided. The staple removal equipment has a detecting unit which detects a position of a staple stapling a paper bundle, a striking portion which strikes the staple, and a removing unit which removes the staple from the paper bundle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of International PatentApplication No. PCT/JP2010/000484, filed on Jan. 28, 2010, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The invention relates to an equipment to remove a staple.

BACKGROUND

Staple removal equipment which removes a staple stapling a paper bundlefrom the paper bundle is known. For example, in staple removal equipmentwhich is disclosed in a patent document (U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,121), thewhole surface of a paper bundle including a staple is pressed by aroller so that the staple is compressively deformed so as to be crushed.

With the compressively deformed staple, a portion of the paper bundlestapled by the staple is punched to open a hole so that the staple losesa holding force for holding the paper bundle.

Subsequently, the staple which loses the holding force for holding thepaper bundle is collected from the paper bundle.

In the staple removal equipment disclosed in the patent document, thewhole area of the paper bundle is pressed by the roller so that thestaple is compressively deformed regardless of the position of thestaple stapled in the paper bundle.

For this reason, a force for compressively deforming the staple needs tobe applied to the whole area of the paper bundle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an office paper reusing printer whichadopts staple removal equipment according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the staple removal equipment.

FIG. 3 is an ideal graph illustrating changes of a force generated bystriking and a static force with time.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the staple removal equipment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conveying unit and adetecting unit.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a pair of detecting rollers.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the detecting unit seen from an orthogonaldirection.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a striking portion seen from a conveyingdirection.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of the striking portion seen from the orthogonaldirection.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are image diagrams illustrating a process in which astaple punches a paper bundle.

FIGS. 11A to 11C are diagrams of a removing unit seen from theorthogonal direction.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of a striking portion of a second embodiment seenfrom the orthogonal direction.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a water droplet supplying portion in athird embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating staple removal equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to one embodiment, staple removal equipment is provided. Theequipment includes a detecting unit which detects a position of a staplestapling a paper bundle, a striking portion which strikes the staple,and a removing unit which removes the staple from the paper bundle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described withreference to the drawings.

In the specification and respective drawings, the same referencenumerals will be given to the same components as those described withregard to a described drawing, and detailed description of thecomponents will be appropriately omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an office paper reusing printer 1000which adopts staple removal equipment 1 according to a first embodiment.The office paper reusing printer 1000 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes aprinter body 1002, an ink erasing device 1001, and staple removalequipment 1. In the office paper reusing printer 1000, a paper printedby an ink which is erasable by heating is heated by the ink erasingdevice 1001 so that the ink is erased. Accordingly, the paper from whichthe ink is erased is conveyed to a paper stacker 1002 a inside theprinter body 1002, and is provided again for printing.

The staple removal equipment 1 removes a staple from plural sheets ofprinted paper (a paper bundle) stapled by the staple automatically, andconveys the paper bundle to the ink erasing device 1001. The paperbundle is set on the paper stacker 900 while the paper bundle is kept ina state that the bundle is stapled by the staple. When the conveying isstarted, the staple removal equipment 1 detects a position of thestaple. The staple which is present at the detected position is struckby a striking member so that the staple is compressively deformed so asto be crushed. Accordingly, the paper bundle is punched. The staplewhich loses a holding force for the paper bundle is removed from thepaper bundle. The paper bundle from which the staple is removed isconveyed in the form of a single sheet or plural sheets to the inkerasing device 1001.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the staple removal equipment 1. Thestaple removal equipment 1 is provided with a conveying unit 110, adetecting unit 10, a striking portion 20, and a removing unit 30, from aside of a conveying start position of a paper bundle 101.

The paper bundle 101 is conveyed to the ink erasing device 1001 by theconveying unit 110. In the conveying process, the detecting unit 10, thestriking portion 20, and the removing unit 30 are sequentially providedfrom the side of the conveying start position.

The conveying unit 110 conveys the paper bundle 101 to the detectingunit 10. The detecting unit 10 detects a position of the staple 100 ofthe paper bundle 101 in a conveying direction and a position of thestaple 100 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction(hereinafter, referred to as the orthogonal direction). The strikingportion 20 strikes the staple 100 on the paper bundle 101 which isdetected by the detecting unit 10 so that the staple 100 iscompressively deformed so as to be crushed. The portion of the paperbundle 101 which is stapled by the staple 100 is punched so that theholding force of the staple 100 for the paper bundle 101 is lost. Theremoving unit 30 bends the paper bundle 101 so that the staple 100protrudes from the paper bundle 101. The removing unit 30 hooks theprotruded staple 100 using a removing member, and removes the staple 100from the paper bundle 101. The paper bundle 101 from which the staple100 is removed is conveyed to the ink erasing device 1001.

The embodiment has a feature that the striking portion 20 of the stapleremoval equipment 1 deforms the staple 100 compressively by strikingusing impact force. This is because the staple 100 can be compressivelydeformed efficiently utilizing a smaller energy by using the impactforce, compared with the case where a staple removal equipment asdisclosed in the patent document is compressively deforming a staple byapplying a static force using a roller.

FIG. 3 is an ideal graph illustrating changes of a force generated bystriking and a static force with time. The horizontal axis indicates atime t, and the vertical axis indicates a force f. Fs indicates thechange of the static force with time, and Fd indicates the change of theforce generated by striking with time. The static force means a forcehaving a magnitude which does not change with time. f0 is a force whichis minimally necessary for compressively deforming and crushing astaple.

For example, in the case where the static force generated by the rolleris applied to the staple as in the staple removal equipment disclosed inthe patent document, the change of the force with time becomes Fs. Inthe staple removal equipment disclosed in the patent document, aconstant force f1 which exceeds f0 is continuously applied, from a time0 at which a paper bundle starts to pass by the roller to a time t3 atwhich the paper bundle completely passes by the roller. For this reason,the accumulated force necessary for compressively deforming the staplebecomes Is as expressed by the following expression, and hence anassociated energy Es is needed.

I _(s)=∫₀ ^(t) ³ F _(s) dt=f ₁ ×t ₃

Is corresponds to the area of a longitudinally-lined portion of FIG. 3.

The change of the force which is applied to the staple 100 by the stapleremoval equipment 1 of the embodiment with time becomes Fd. The strikingportion 20 of the staple removal equipment 1 applies the force Fd inwhich the maximum force becomes f2 exceeding f0 to the staple 100 bystriking, from a time t1 to a time t2. For this reason, the accumulatedforce necessary for compressively deforming the staple 100 becomes Id asexpressed by the following expression, and hence an associated energy Edis needed.

I _(d)=∫_(t) ₁ ^(t) ² F _(d) dt

Id corresponds to the area of an obliquely-lined portion of FIG. 3.

As obvious from FIG. 3, Id is a value which is smaller than Is. For thisreason, Ed may be a value which is smaller than Es. The staple removalequipment 1 according to the embodiment which deforms the staple 100compressively by striking using an impact force can compressively deformthe staple 100 efficiently by a smaller energy, compared with a casewhere a static force is applied to a staple using a roller or the likeso as to deform the staple compressively.

Hereinafter, the staple removal equipment 1 will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the staple removal equipment 1. Acontrol portion 15 controls the conveying unit 110, the detecting unit10, and the striking portion 20. A pulse generator 501 outputs a pulsesignal to the control portion 15 every predetermined time period. Thecontrol portion 15 is equipped with a counter circuit. The countercircuit counts the pulse signal output from the pulse generator 501.

The conveying unit 110 includes a conveying roller 110 a, an auxiliaryroller 110 b, a stepping motor 156 which rotates the conveying roller110 a, and a motor driving portion 155. The control portion 15 outputs acontrol signal to the motor driving portion 155 so that the steppingmotor 156 which will be described later is driven so as to besynchronized with the pulse signal.

The detecting unit 10 includes a sensor 159 which detects a leading endof the paper bundle 101 existing in the conveying direction, a pair ofdetecting rollers 50 which detects the position of the staple 100 of thepaper bundle 101, and a measuring portion 55. The measuring portion 55measures a change in voltage by applying a voltage to the pair ofdetecting rollers 50. The control portion 15 estimates the position ofthe staple 100 on the paper bundle 101.

The striking portion 20 includes a striking unit 201 which includes astriking block 21, a gear driving portion 213 c for moving the strikingblock 21 through a gear 213 b, a rotating claw 202, and an actuator 204for rotating the rotating claw 202, a unit driving portion 29 whichmoves the striking unit 201 in an orthogonal direction, and a sensor 160which detects the leading end of the paper bundle 101 existing in theconveying direction.

The control portion 15 outputs a control signal to the unit drivingportion 29 so as to move the striking portion in the orthogonaldirection. The control portion 15 outputs a control signal to theactuator 204 so as to rotate the rotating claw 202 to open the strikingblock 21. The control portion 15 outputs a control signal to the geardriving portion 213 c so as to drive the gear driving portion 213 c tomove the striking block 21.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the conveying unit 110 and thedetecting unit 10. In the embodiment, the conveying unit 110 includesthe conveying roller 110 a and the auxiliary roller 110 b so as tosandwich the paper bundle 101. The conveying roller 110 a receives adriving force generated by the stepping motor 156 to rotate, and conveysthe paper bundle 101. The auxiliary roller 110 b is provided to apply aconstant pressure to the paper bundle 101 so that the paper bundle 101does not slide on the conveying roller 110 a, and assists conveying ofthe paper bundle 101 by the conveying roller 110 a.

The detecting unit 10 includes the sensor 159 which detects the leadingend of the paper bundle 101 existing in the conveying direction, and thepair of detecting rollers 50 which detects the position of the staple100 of the paper bundle 101, in an order from a side of conveying thepaper bundle 101. The position of the staple 100 on the paper bundle 101in the conveying direction is detected by the sensor 159 and the pair ofdetecting rollers 50. The position of the staple 100 on the paper bundle101 in the orthogonal direction is detected by the pair of detectingrollers 50.

Detection of the position of the staple 100 on the paper bundle 101 inthe orthogonal direction will be described.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the pair of detecting rollers 50. Thepair of detecting rollers 50 includes a first conductive roller 51 and asecond conductive roller 52. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the firstconductive roller 51 has a structure in which an insulating roller 512is fitted into a rotatably-supported shaft 511. Plural partialconductive rollers 51 a to 51 e as conductors are fitted to the outerperiphery of the insulating roller 512. Furthermore, insulating layers513 are provided between the respective partial conductive rollers 51 ato 51 e, and allows the respective partial conductive rollers 51 a to 51e to keep in a non-contacting state electrically with each other.

The second conductive roller 52 has a structure in which a conductiveroller 522 is fitted into a rotatably-supported shaft 521. The shaft 521and the roller 522 may be integrated with each other. A belt 157illustrated in FIG. 5 is suspended between the second conductive roller52 and the conveying roller 110 a so as to transmit a driving forcegenerated by the stepping motor 156. The second conductive roller 52 iselectrically grounded by an earth line 523 or the like.

In the first conductive roller 51, each of the partial conductiverollers 51 a to 51 e is equipped with the measuring portion 55, whichmeasures the voltage by applying a voltage to the surfaces of thepartial conductive rollers 51 a to 51 e. In the embodiment, themeasuring portion 55 includes measuring elements 55 a to 55 e. Forexample, the measuring element 55 a allows a leading end of a conductivewire to contact the surface of the partial conductive roller 51 athrough an electric brush or the like, by interposing a resistor R, froma power supply Vcc. Then, the value of the voltage which is applied tothe resistor R is measured.

The conveyed paper bundle 101 passes between the first conductive roller51 and the second conductive roller 52. When a paper portion of thepaper bundle 101 is present between the partial conductive rollers 51 ato 51 e and the second conductive roller 52, a non-contact state is keptelectrically.

When the staple 100 of the paper bundle 101 passes between the firstconductive roller 51 and the second conductive roller 52, a current fromthe power supply Vcc leaks to the staple 100, the second conductiveroller 52 and the earth line 523 through any one of the partialconductive rollers 51 a to 51 e. It is possible to determine throughwhich one of the partial conductive rollers 51 a to 51 e the currentpasses from the power supply Vcc, by detecting a change in voltage valueof the measuring elements 55 a to 55 e using the measuring portion 55.The measuring portion 50 outputs voltage values of the measuringelements 55 a to 55 e as measurement signals continuously to the controlportion 15. The control portion 15 estimates the positions directlybelow the partial conductive rollers 51 a to 51 e which change thevalues of the measuring element 55 a to 55 e, as the position of thestaple 100.

In order to detect the position of the staple 100 using one partialconductive roller, it is desirable that the length of each of thepartial conductive rollers 51 a to 51 e in the direction of the rotaryaxis be longer than a needle shoulder width of the staple 100. It isdesirable that the width of the insulating layers 513 in the directionof the rotary axis be shorter than a needle shoulder width of the staple100 in order to prevent an erroneous detection when the staple 100passes directly below the insulating layer 513.

The staple 100 may be stapled at a position crossing an insulatinglayer. In this case, since the measuring elements 55 a to 55 e detectthat a current flows to adjacent two of the partial conductive rollers51 a to 51 e, the detecting unit 10 may determine the position of thestaple 100 on the paper bundle 101 in the orthogonal direction even whenthe staple 100 is stapled at the position crossing over the insulatinglayer.

In the embodiment, the respective numbers of the partial conductiverollers 51 a to 51 e and the measuring elements 55 a to 55 e are five,but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, when the partialconductive rollers and the measuring portions are provided as many asthe number more than five, the detecting unit 10 can detect the positionof the staple 100 on the paper bundle 101 in the orthogonal directionwith higher precision.

Detection of the position of the staple 100 on the paper bundle 101 inthe conveying direction will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram of thedetecting unit 10 seen from the orthogonal direction. The sensor 159detects the leading end of the paper bundle 101 which is conveyed fromthe conveying unit 110. For example, the sensor 159 may be an opticalsensor. In this case, the sensor 159 includes a light source 159 a and alight receiving sensor 159 b. The light source 159 a and the lightreceiving sensor 159 b are provided so as to sandwich a conveying pathof the paper bundle 101.

Before the paper bundle 101 passes by the sensor 159, the lightreceiving sensor 159 b receives light from the light source 159 a.During a time period in which the paper bundle 101 passes by the sensor159, the light receiving sensor 159 b does not receive light from thelight source 159 a. The sensor 159 outputs a first detection signal tothe control portion 15 using a time point at which the light receivingsensor 159 b changes to a state not receiving light from the lightsource 159 a from the state receiving light, as a trigger. When thefirst detection signal is input, the control portion 15 starts to countthe number of pulse signals output from the pulse generator 501.

When the staple 100 reaches the pair of detecting rollers 50 and thevoltage values of the measuring elements 55 a to 55 e change, thecontrol portion 15 stores the count number that is the number of thepulse signals until a time point at which the voltage values changeafter the number of the pulse signals is started to be counted. Thecontrol portion 15 stores the count number of the pulse signals outputfrom the pulse generator 501 until a change in voltage is detected bythe measuring portion 55 after the leading end of the paper bundle 101is detected by the sensor 159. The count value is used in the strikingportion 20.

Since the stepping motor 156 is driven so as to be synchronized with thecount number using the pulse generator 501, the control portion 15 cancorrelate the conveying distance of the paper bundle 101 with the countnumber by storing the count number. Accordingly, the detecting unit 10can detect the position of the staple 100 on the paper bundle 101 in theconveying direction.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the striking portion 20 seen from the conveyingdirection. The striking portion 20 includes the striking unit 201 whichcontains the striking block 21 for striking the staple 100, and astriking base 22 which is provided at a position interposing the paperbundle 101 between the striking base and the striking block 21. Thestriking portion is provided so as to be movable in the orthogonaldirection. For example, a guide shaft 28 may pass through the strikingportion in the orthogonal direction, and the striking unit is moved inthe orthogonal direction by the unit driving portion 29 provided in thestriking portion. Accordingly, the striking portion can move to theposition of the staple 100 detected by the detecting unit 10 andexisting in the orthogonal direction. It is desirable that one staple bestruck by the striking portion 20 once.

A striking method using the striking block 21 will be described. Asillustrated in FIG. 8, the striking block 21 of the embodiment has acolumnar shape, and includes a surface 21 a which strikes the staple100, and a surface 21 b to which a spring 25 is attached. The spring 25is attached to the surface 21 b opposite to the surface 21 a whichstrikes the staple 100. The spring 25 is attached to a fixed plate 30 aprovided in the striking portion. With this configuration, the strikingblock 21 pops out in the striking direction of FIG. 8 so as to strikethe staple 100, with release of an elastic energy which is accumulatedin the spring 25.

In order to assist striking by the striking block 21, in the embodiment,assisting shafts 24 a, 24 b are provided in the fixed plate 30 a. Theassisting shafts 24 a, 24 b are provided so that their axial directionis parallel to the striking direction. The striking block 21 is providedwith shaft holders 23 a, 23 b along the orthogonal direction. Theassisting shafts 24 a, 24 b penetrate through the shaft holders.Accordingly, the striking direction of the striking block 21 can bestraightened.

The fixed plate 30 is equipped with a ratchet mechanism 27 which holdsand releases the compressed spring 25. The ratchet mechanism 27 includesthe rotating claw 202, a pressing spring 203, and the actuator 204. Therotating claw 202 rotates about the rotary shaft 205 which is providedat an end portion of the fixed plate 30. The rotating claw 202 isprovided at a position where the striking block 21 can be maintained byhooking the shaft holder 23 b using the claw.

The rotating claw 202 is pressed in a rotating direction (pressingdirection) in the clockwise direction of FIG. 8 by the pressing spring203. When the spring 25 is compressed by a compressing mechanism 213which will be described later and the striking block 21 moves in acompressing direction of the spring 25, the shaft holder 23 b allows therotating claw 202 to rotate in the direction (counter-clockwisedirection of FIG. 8) opposite to the pressing direction of the pressingspring 203. When the shaft holder 23 b moves over the claw of therotating claw 202, the rotating claw 202 is pressed and rotated by thepressing spring 203 again, and is caught by the shaft holder 23 b so asto hold the striking block 21. The claw of the rotating claw 202 and theshaft holder 23 b carries out a function of a ratchet.

The actuator 204 is provided at a position where expansion andcontraction of the pressing spring 203 can be controlled. For example,the actuator 204 is provided on the fixed plate 30. In a state where thestriking block 21 is held by the rotating claw 202, the actuator 204guides the pressing spring 203 in a direction opposite to the pressingdirection. With this, the striking block 21 is released from therotating claw 202, and strikes the staple 100 by an elastic energy ofthe spring 25.

The spring compressing mechanism 213 will be described. FIG. 9 is adiagram of the striking portion 20 seen from the orthogonal direction.The spring compressing mechanism 213 includes a rack 213 a, the gear 213b, and the gear driving portion 213 c. The rack 213 a is provided on aside surface of the striking block 21. The gear 213 b is provided so asto mesh with the rack 213 a. The gear 213 b compresses the spring 25 bymoving the striking block 21 in the compressing direction of the spring25 using the gear driving portion 213 c provided in the strikingportion.

The gear 213 b includes a meshing portion with a tooth and a non-meshingportion without a tooth. The meshing portion and the non-meshing portionare provided so that the meshing portion moves to the non-meshingportion when the striking block 21 reaches a position where the strikingblock 21 can be held by the ratchet mechanism 27. Accordingly, the rack213 a and the gear 213 b are prevented from being meshed with each otherduring striking of the striking block 21.

The control portion 15 moves the striking portion to an orthogonaldirection position of the staple 100 estimated by the detecting unit 10.

Control of striking timing of the striking block 21 will be described.In FIG. 9, when the paper bundle 101 is conveyed from the detecting unit10, the sensor 160 detects a leading end of the paper bundle 101. Thesensor 160 may be the same optical sensor as that of the sensor 159. Thedistance from the sensor 160 to the striking block 21 in the conveyingdirection is equal to the distance from the sensor 159 to the pair ofdetecting rollers 50 in the conveying direction of the detecting unit10.

When the leading end of the paper bundle 101 is detected, the sensor 160outputs a second detection signal to the control portion 15. When thesecond detection signal is input, the control portion 15 starts to countthe number of pulse signals output from the pulse generator 501. Thecontrol portion 15 outputs a control signal to the actuator 204 so as torelease the striking block 21 from the rotating claw 202 at a time pointat which the number of the pulse signals reaches the same number as thecount number stored in the detecting unit 10.

Accordingly, the striking portion 20 can strike the staple 100 which ispresent at the position detected by the detecting unit 10.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are image diagrams illustrating a process in which thestaple 100 punches the paper bundle 101. FIG. 10A illustrates a state ofthe staple 100 before striking. FIG. 10B illustrates a state of thestaple 100 after striking. When the staple 100 is struck by the strikingblock 21, the staple 100 is compressively deformed so as to punch thepaper bundle 100. Accordingly, the staple 100 loses a holding force forthe paper bundle 101, and hence becomes a state where the staple can beremoved by the removing unit 30.

Other elastic members may be used instead of the spring 25.

FIGS. 11 to 11C are diagrams of the removing unit 30 seen from theorthogonal direction. FIG. 11A illustrates a state of the staple 100before removal. FIG. 11B illustrates a state of the staple 100 duringremoval. FIG. 11C illustrates a state of the staple 100 collected afterremoval.

The removing unit 30 includes an auxiliary roller 31 which curves thepaper bundle 101, a blade 32 which rotates about the rotary shaft 34serving as a rotation center so as to remove the staple 100 from thepaper bundle 101, a pair of guide rollers 33 which guides the conveyingof the paper bundle 101 and conveys the paper bundle 101 to the inkerasing device 1001, and a collecting mechanism 35 which collects theremoved staple 100. It is desirable that the length of the blade 32 inthe orthogonal direction be equal to or longer than the length of thepaper bundle in the orthogonal direction so that the staple 100 may beremoved regardless of the stapled position of the staple 100 in thepaper bundle 101.

Furthermore, when the length of the blade 32 in the orthogonal directionis shorter than the length of the paper bundle in the orthogonaldirection, a mechanism may be provided so as to move the removing unitincluding the blade 32 and the rotary shaft 34 in the orthogonaldirection, and may move the removing unit to a position where the staple100 needs to be removed based on staple position information from thestaple detecting unit 10.

The paper bundle 101 which is conveyed from the striking portion 20enters into a lower portion of the blade 32 after passing through theauxiliary roller 31, and passes between the pair of guide rollers 33 ina bent state. The paper bundle 101 passes through the lower portion ofthe blade 32, and the blade 32 rotates to a position where the leadingend contacts the paper bundle 101. The blade 32 is driven by a bladedriving portion (not shown). The blade driving portion is equipped witha detecting sensor (not shown) which detects the leading end of thepaper bundle 101, and is desirably configured to rotate the blade 32 ata time point at which the leading end of the paper bundle 101 isdetected.

Since the paper bundle 101 is bent, a part of the staple 100 protrudesfrom the paper bundle 101. The staple 100 which partially protrudes fromthe paper bundle 101 is pulled by the blade 32 so that the staple isremoved from the paper bundle 101.

The removed staple 100 is collected by the collecting mechanism 35. Thecollecting mechanism 35 may be, for example, a permanent magnet. In thiscase, the staple 100 removed using the blade 32 is collected by beingadsorbed to the permanent magnet. For this reason, the permanent magnetis provided at a position where the removed staple 100 can be adsorbedby the blade 32.

As described above, according to the embodiment, it is possible toprovide staple removal equipment capable of removing the stapleefficiently.

According to the staple removal equipment disclosed in the patentdocument, the whole surface of the paper bundle may be wrinkled by theroller when the posture of the paper is not maintained with highprecision during conveying the paper or a deformation such as a curloccurs in the paper in order to press the whole surface of the paperbundle using the roller with a high pressure. In this case, a defect mayoccur in the paper bundle after the staple is removed, and the paper cannot be appropriately reused. However, in the staple removal equipment 1according to the embodiment, since only the staple 100 and a portion ofthe paper bundle 100 peripheral to the staple are struck, the staple 100can be removed from the paper bundle 100 without producing any wrinklein the paper bundle 100. For this reason, in the embodiment, it ispossible to provide staple removal equipment which is suitable for reuseof the paper bundle 101.

A blower (not shown) may be provided between the removing unit 30 andthe ink erasing device 1001. The blower blows an air stream with apredetermined pressure or more to a side portion of the paper bundle 101from which the staple 100 is removed. Accordingly, the paper bundle 101which is conveyed to the ink erasing device 1001 can be separated onesheet by one sheet, and the paper can be appropriately printed again bythe printer body 1002.

A staple removal equipment 2 according to a second embodiment isdifferent from that of the first embodiment in that a staple 100 isstruck by a striking block 21 provided in a striking portion 20 of thestaple removal equipment 1, and subsequently the staple 100 is vibrated.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of the striking portion 20 of the second embodimentseen from the orthogonal direction. In the striking portion 20 of theembodiment, the striking block 21 strikes the staple 100, and then thestriking block 21 is vibrated by a spring compressing mechanism 213while the striking block 21 contacts a paper bundle 101.

Specifically, the striking block 21 strikes the staple 100, and a geardriving portion 213 c rotates a gear 213 b until a meshing portion ofthe gear 213 b meshes with a rack 213 a. In a state where the gear 213 bmeshes with the rack 213 a, the gear driving portion 213 c rotates thegear 213 b in a reciprocating manner so that the striking block 21 isvibrated.

In this way, the staple 100 which is compressively deformed by thestriking block 21 and punches the paper bundle 101 is vibrated.Accordingly, the punched hole of the paper bundle 101 can be broadenedand the staple 100 can be more easily removed by a removing unit 30.

A staple removal equipment 3 according to a third embodiment can punch apaper bundle 101 easily during striking a staple 100 using a strikingportion 20, by dropping a water droplet to a position of the staple 100in the paper bundle 101.

The water is absorbed to the staple portion of the paper bundle 101which is stapled by the staple 100. This swells fibers of the paper sothat the paper bundle 101 is easily punched by the compressivedeformation of the staple 100.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a water droplet supply portion 300 ofthe third embodiment. The water droplet supply portion 300 is providedbetween a detecting unit 10 and the striking portion 20. The waterdroplet supply portion 300 includes a tank 701 which stores water, apump 702 which supplies water, a nozzle 703 which drops a water droplet704 to the paper bundle 101, and a sensor 161 which detects a leadingend of the paper bundle 101.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the staple removal equipment 3.A conveying unit 110, the detecting unit 10, the striking portion 20,and a removing unit 30 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The pump 702 is controlled by a control portion 15. The sensor 161 maybe the same optical sensor as that of a sensor 159. It is assumed thatthe distance from the sensor 161 to the nozzle 703 in the conveyingdirection is equal to the distance from the sensor 159 to a pair ofdetecting rollers 50 in the conveying direction of the detecting unit10. Accordingly, the water droplet 704 may be dropped to the staple 100by using a count value which is stored in the control portion 15 in thedetecting unit 10.

When a leading end of a paper bundle 101 is detected, the sensor 161outputs a third detection signal to the control portion 15. When thethird detection signal is input, the control portion 15 starts to countthe number of pulse signals output from a counter (pulse generator) 501.The control portion 15 outputs a control signal to the pump 702 at atime point at which the number of the pulse signals reaches the samenumber as the count number stored in the detecting unit 10 describedabove, so as to drop the water droplet 704.

Accordingly, the paper bundle 101 can be easily punched during strikingof the staple 100 by the striking portion 20.

What is claimed is:
 1. Staple removal equipment comprising: a detectorto detect a position of a staple stapling a paper bundle; a strikingportion to strike the staple; and a removing unit to remove the staplefrom the paper bundle.
 2. The equipment according to claim 1, whereinthe removing unit includes an auxiliary roller to curve the paperbundle, a blade to rotate about a rotary shaft serving as a rotationcenter so as to remove the staple from the paper bundle, a pair of guiderollers to guide conveying of the paper bundle and to convey the paperbundle to an ink erasing device, and a collecting mechanism to collectthe removed staple.
 3. The equipment according to claim 2, wherein thestriking portion includes a striking block to strike the staple using anelastic member to be released from a compressed state so as toaccelerate the striking block to strike the staple, a striking base tobe provided at a position facing the surface of the striking blockstriking the staple and a sensor to detect an leading end of the paperbundle, and wherein the striking block strikes the staple in response todetection of the leading end of the paper bundle by the sensor.
 4. Theequipment according to claim 3, wherein the striking portion moves to aposition detected by the detecting unit and strikes the staple.
 5. Theequipment according to claim 4, wherein the striking block is a toolsteel and the elastic member is a spring.